☕️ Puffer vest recession

Are tough times in investment banking affecting puffer vest sales?

July 13, 2023

Good morning.

Australia’s wealthiest couple, Andrew and Nicola Forrest, are going their separate ways. The multi-billionaire couple confirmed the end of their 31-year marriage overnight and insist the split won’t affect their control of ASX iron ore heavyweight Fortescue Metals. But these situations can get messy and it will nonetheless be interesting to see how the market reacts to the news.

It also remains to be seen how the separation will affect the couple’s vast array of non-Fortescue assets (including the RM Williams fashion brand and extensive agriculture and property holdings, to name just two categories).

In brighter developments, there were signs overnight that US inflation may have actually peaked.

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MARKET MOVERS

*Stock data as of the market close. Commodities and crypto data in USD.

Market News: Tough times in investment banking have led to a sharp drop in puffer vest sales this winter, and this crisis has now spread to the sharemarket.

Well not seriously, but this is one (very) long bow we can draw from a trading update by one puffer vest seller, Kathmandu, yesterday. KMD Brands shares were smacked after the apparel retailer said it had experienced a slower start to the winter trading period relative to last year. The company pinned the blame for this on a warmer than usual start to winter (huh?) and more plausibly, softening consumer sentiment.

THE QUICK SYNC

  • Fortescue executive chairman Andrew Forrest and his wife Nicola have announced their separation after 31 years of marriage (AFR | SMH | ABC).

  • US inflation rose by a weaker than expected 0.2% in June (CNBC)

    • Stocks on Wall St rose to their highest levels in over a year, and the US dollar fell, after weaker than expected inflation figures (Reuters).

  • Elon Musk announced the launch of ‘xAI’ as part of a plan to build an alternative to Chat GPT (TechCrunch).

  • CEO pay in Australia has sunk to its lowest level in nine years (SMH).

TRADING FLOOR

M&A:

  • Real Petfood Company is set to place itself up for sale before Christmas (The Australian)

  • Murray & Roberts’ talks to buy back RUC Cementation Mining Contractors from administration did not firm up into a deal. (AFR)

  • Analysts are questioning the merits of Incitec Pivot’s potential fertiliser unit sale. (The Australian)

  • Apex Greenhouses is selling a minority stake to Dutch aggregator GreenV BV. (AFR)

  • Fortescue Metals is falling away in the contest for Alinta’s Western Australia assets. (The Australian)

  • EROAD has rejected a $134.5m takeover offer from Constellation Software. (AFR)

  • The Ritz-Carlton hotels in Melbourne and Perth are being sold for about $500.(SMH)

  • Platinum Equity is now believed to be in the competition for 7-Eleven. (The Australian)

Capital Markets:

  • Fund managers say temporary earnings boosts from the pandemic are making it harder to assess IPO hopefuls. (AFR)

VC:

  • dataThe Best of Moi, a liquid dietary supplement startup, closed an $850,000 pre-seed round. (BNA)

  • Magic Valley struck a deal with Biocellion. (BNA)

Others:

  • Domenico Giuliano exits Magellan after more than 16 years. (AFR)

  • State Street Global Markets’ head of sales and trading has left after 12 years. (AFR)

THE WATERCOOLER